The Office of the Parliamentarian in the House and Senate

Changes from July 25, 2003 to June 13, 2008

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Order Code RS20544
Updated July 25, 2003
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS WebJune 13, 2008
The Office of the Parliamentarianin the House
and Senate
Colton C. Campbell
Analyst in American National Government
Government and Finance Division
Stanley Bach
Senior Specialist in the and Senate
Valerie Heitshusen
Analyst on the Congress and Legislative Process
Government and Finance Division
The House and the Senate each has an Office of the Parliamentarian to provide
expert advice and assistance on questions relating to the meaning and application of that
chamber’s legislative rules, precedents, and practices. The Speaker began naming a
parliamentarian in 1927; the Senate first recognized its parliamentarian in 1935. At
present, the House parliamentarian is assisted by two deputies, threea deputy, four assistants, and twoclerks.The Senate office currently comprises the parliamentarian, two senior assistant
parliamentarians, the assistant parliamentarian, and the parliamentary assistant. See
[http://www.crs.gov/products/guides/guidehome.shtml] for information on legislative
process.1
The responsibilities of the two offices are similar. These derive from the need of
Representatives and Senators, and their staffsstaff, for access to confidential and nonpartisan
expertise to help them understandregarding the intricacies of the legislative process. Theparliamentarians andtheir assistants/deputies make their authoritative knowledgeavailable to all members onthe floor during plenary sessions and from their offices at allother times.
The most visible service that each office provides is in advising the Member
presiding over House or Senate plenary sessions as to the appropriate procedure to be
followed, the appropriate way in which to phrase whateverany statements the chair needs tomake,and the appropriate responses by the chair to parliamentary inquiries and points oforder.Whenever the House or Senate is in session, the parliamentarian or one of histhe office’s
deputies/assistants always is present on the floor at all times. In the House, the parliamentarian on
on duty sits or stands near the right hand of the Member who is presiding. In the Senate, the
the parliamentarian on duty always is seated at the rostrum immediately below the presiding
presiding officer’s desk.
Because of the complexity of the legislative procedures that govern the floor sessions
of each house, Representatives and Senators have long felt the need for expert
professional assistance, especially for those called upon to preside. The parliamentarians
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress
CRS-2
and their staffs provide this assistance in several ways. For routine situations and
situations that can be anticipated in advance, the office may prepare written guidance for
the Members who are presiding to inform them as to what they are expected to say or do
1
This report was written by former CRS Senior Specialist Stanley Bach, but has been updated
by the current author, who is available to answer inquires on the topic.
CRS-2
to implement the applicable procedures of that house. In other circumstances, the
parliamentarians convey their advice verbally to the presiding Representative or Senator
— for example, when that Member needs to respond to a parliamentary inquiry or rule on
on a point of order.
As a staff official, neither parliamentarian is empowered to make decisions that are
binding on the House or Senate. The parliamentarians and their deputies/assistants only
offer advice that the presiding Representatives or SenatorsRepresentative or Senator may accept or reject;
individual individual
Members may appeal rulings. For more information on appeals, see CRSReport 98-306,Points of Order, Rulings, and Appeals in the Senate and CRS Report 9830798-307, Points ofOrder, Rulings, and Appeals in the House of Representatives, both by Valerie Heitshusen.
The House and Senate parliamentarians and their deputies/assistants have various
other, closely related, duties. They recommend the referral of most measures to
committee, acting on behalf of the Speaker of the House or the presiding officer of the
Senate. They refer measures on the basis of House and Senate rules and precedents that
define committee jurisdictions. Each office of the parliamentarian also is responsible for
maintaining, compiling, and publishing the rules and precedents of its chamber. The
publications for which the Senate office is responsible include the Standing Rules of the
Senate, published periodically, and Riddick’s Senate Procedure, the one-volume
collection of precedents last published in 1992. The House office prepares the biennial
editions of the House Rules and Manual, additional volumes in the multi-volume
compilation of Deschler-Brown Precedents, and the one-volume House Practice: A Guide
to the Rules, Precedents and Procedures of the House, a new edition of which was
published in 2003.
The parliamentarians and their deputies/assistants in both houseseach house also are available
to confer with all Members, and their legislative staffs,staff about the meaning and application
of their housechambers’s rules and precedents. For example, Members and staff may consult with
with the parliamentarian before introducing a bill to gain insight into how that bill might be
be referred to committee. Members and staff also may seek explanations, either during floor
floor sessions or in preparation for them, about what procedures may be available or invoked
invoked during House or Senate consideration of a particular measure, amendment, ormotion.Although the office of the parliamentarian is not responsible for providing procedural
procedural assistance during House or Senate committee meetings, they can offer insight, in advance
(in
advance or during such meetings, about the) interpretation of House or Senate rules that are
applicable during committee proceedings.
The House and Senate parliamentarians and their deputies/assistants are charged with
providing information and assistance to all Representatives and Senators, and their staffs,
on a strictly nonpartisan and confidential basis. Organizationally, the office of the Senate
parliamentarian is within the Office of the Secretary of the Senate, whom the Senate elects
at the recommendation of the majority leader. The Speaker appoints the parliamentarian
of the House.